Universitat Rovira i Virgili

Gabriel González Núñez

Gabriel González teaches at the University of Texas at Brownsville, United States, where he trains translators and interpreters. He was a Marie Curie Actions fellow at KU Leuven and the beneficiary of a co-tutelle agreement between KU Leuven and Universitat Rovira i Virgili within the framework of the TIME project (FP7-PEOPLE-2010-ITN-263954). He holds a B.A. in Spanish Translation (Brigham Young University 2001), a J.D. (Brigham Young University 2007), and an M.A. in Translation and Intercultural Studies (Universitat Rovira i Virgili 2011). He has worked as a sports broadcaster, language teacher, translator, interpreter, lawyer, and college professor, and he has volunteered for a number of non-profit organizations.

Translating for minorities: Linguistic diversity and integration in Europe

Supervisors: Reine Meylaerts, Anthony Pym

Research Summary

In contemporary Europe, state languages come in contact with a fluid tapestry of immigrant languages and an set of ever more legitimized regional or minority languages. In this context, policy makers are faced with a changing demographics and attitudes about rights and integration. Translation policies play a key role in realizing minorities' language rights and integration. However, in current research on language policies, the key role of translation remains a blind spot. This research project sheds light on that blind spot. The project considers legal frameworks and their attendant translation policies in order to find out how governments use translation to interact with individuals belonging to linguistic minorities. In so doing, the project aims to understand what role translation, as part of language police, plays in the integration (or not) of those who speak languages other than the state's preferred language.

Minor dissertation

Publications

Forthcoming. González Núñez, G. "Translating for Minorities in Wales: A Look at Translation Policies", in S. Izwaini (ed), Papers in Translation Studies. (Cambridge Scholars Publishing).

2014.  Meylaerts, R. & González Núñez, G. "No language policy without translation policy: A comparison of Flanders and Wales". Language Problems and Language Policy.

2014. Pym, A., González Núñez, G., Miquel-Iriarte, M., Ramos Pinto, S., Teixeira, C. S. C. & Tesseur, W. "Work Placements in Doctoral Research Training in the Humanities: Eight Cases from Translation Studies". Across Languages and Cultures 15(1).

2013. González Núñez, G., Khaled Y. & Voinova, T. (eds), Emerging Research in Translation Studies: Selected Papers of the CETRA Research Summer School 2012. (Leuven: CETRA).

2013. González Núñez, G. "Translation and Healthcare in Europe: A Look at the Legal Framework", in G. González Núñez, Y. Khaled & T. Voinova (eds), Emerging Research in Translation Studies: Selected Papers of the CETRA Research Summer School 2012 (Leuven: CETRA).

2013. González Núñez, G. "Translating to Communicate with Linguistic Minorities: State Obligations under International Law". The International Journal on Minority and Group Rights 20(3). pp. 405-441. [doi: 10.1163/15718115-02003004]

2013. González Núñez, G. "Translating for Linguistic Minorities in Northern Ireland: A Look at Translation Policy in the Judiciary, Healthcare and Local Government". Current Issues in Language Planning 14(3). pp. 1-16. [doi: 10.1080/14664208.2013.827036]

2012. González Núñez, G. "Early Translations of the U.S. Constitution into Spanish: Taking a Look through a Functionalist Prism". mTm 4. pp. 46-65.

Conference Presentations

"Translating for linguistic minorities in Scotland: A case study". Multidisciplinary Approaches in Language Policy and Planning  Conference 2013. Calgary, Canada. University of Calgary. Sep 5-7

"Minority language translation in the United Kingdom". Interactions between indigenous and migrant minority languages in changing multilingual environments. Luxembourg. University of Luxembourg. July 17-19.

"Translating for minorities: Translation policy in Northern Ireland". New Research in Translation and Interpreting Studies. Graduate Conference. Tarragona, Spain. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. July 1-2 2012

"Translating for the minorities: International law and domestic translation policies". Language Rights, Inclusion and the Prevention of Ethnic Conflicts. 13th International Conference on Linguistic Law. Chiang Mai, Thailand. Dec 13-17.

"Translating for the minorities in Wales: A look at translation policy". Translation in Non-State Cultures: Perspectives from Wales. Bangor, United Kingdom. Bangor University. Sep 10-11, 2011

"When a translator is more than a translator: A paratextual analysis of Manuel García de Sena's La independencia de la Costa Firme justificada por Thomas Paine". New Research in Translation and Interpreting Studies. Graduate Conference. Tarragona, Spain. Universitat Rovira i Virgili. May 12-14.

VIVA August, 8, 2014

Examining committee:

Dr. Fernand de Varenness (University of Stockholm)  
Dr. Helder de Schutter (KU Leuven)
Dr. Erik Hertog (Lessius University)

External Evaluators:

Dr. Christina Schäffner (Aston University)  
Dr. Helder de Schutter (KU Leuven)

Doctoral thesis